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Dire warning on designer drug
Beatrice Siu
Monday, December 16, 2013

Drug users taking synthetic cannabis are flirting with death, the police warned yesterday.
Fears that its abuse is on the rise followed a seizure of 1,857 grams of the designer drug in Tai Kok Tsui on November 28 - the largest single seizure since the substance first surfaced four years ago.
Synthetic cannabis, also called K2 or Spice, was first found being sold on the internet in 2009 with claims it was a substitute for ecstasy.
Mong Kok police chief inspector Rene Lam Suk-man said the drug is created by spraying natural herbs with synthetic chemicals. It contains a substance called tetrahydrocannabinol that leads to extreme excitement.
"Consumption of cannabis can lead to hallucinations and damage to nerves," Lam said. "But synthetic cannabis is four to 10 times more poisonous."
Medical experts say consumption of the drug can increase the heart rate, induce vomiting, agitation, profound sweating, confusion and, in a few cases, it has been associated with heart attacks.
The drug is banned in France, South Korea and Japan but is legal in Australia, Russia and some places in the United States.
It is believed that the drug is produced in Asian countries and transported to Europe and the United States.
Police believe the drugs seized last month were bought online for US$28 (HK$218.40) to US$35 per three-gram packet. They were then sold in Hong Kong for HK$1,000 a packet. The price of cannabis is around HK$70 a gram.
Cannabis can be smoked, or crushed into powder and burned in aroma incense burners. Pleasant fruit smells can be added as flavors, Lam said.
On November 28, police stopped and searched a jobless man surnamed Chan, 29, at about 1.18am in Tai Kok Tsui and found five packs of "ice," or methamphetamine, weighing 28.6g and worth HK$18,000. A search of his home turned up 339 packs of synthetic cannabis weighing 1,857g and worth HK$340,000.
Detectives also found 17g of cocaine worth HK$24,000.
Chan's 19-year-old girlfriend, a makeup artist surnamed Ng, was also arrested.
The two were charged with trafficking in dangerous drugs. Chan was remanded in custody pending further investigation while Ng was allowed bail.
The first seizure of synthetic cannabis in Hong Kong was in June 2010 when police arrested two people and found 30g of the drug at a bar in Yuen Long.
The suspects were released as synthetic cannabis was not regulated as a dangerous drug until April 2011.
Lam said police cannot say at this moment whether the drug will become as popular as ketamine.